


When the World Spins Again

by agutsykunoichi



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hyuuga Neji Lives, Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 21:52:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16104551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agutsykunoichi/pseuds/agutsykunoichi
Summary: The Fourth Great Ninja war is a time of great loss and also a time of great togetherness. Many ninja find there is a lot that can be lost in the tide if they don’t reach out and grab on to their hope. Neji and Tenten don’t know how much time they have left, and after the bleak realization that Neji could have died, the two Konoha nin get careless. This is their story, of how to keep going when you assumed all was lost, and how to stay together when reality sets in. This is the story of what happens when you thought the world would stop spinning.





	1. Chapter 1

OKAY so. This is canon-divergent. Neji lives as he should’ve. The war timeline is a bit different, mostly because I don’t feel it necessary to make it match. These are the babies you know and love, aged up. In this AU-ish fiction, team 7, 8 and 10 are all twenty-one, team guy is twenty-two. This story is entirely based on a head-canon of tea-of-momo in the nejiten discord I’m in and it was too good. I hope I get it right :). 

  
  
  
  
  
  


   They say a lot about war in terms of feelings burning hot. Deep anger, anger at the system that failed to keep it from happening. Anger at having to sacrifice your young life and watch those around you suffer, too. Anger at the opposition. Anger at yourself. 

   They say there are other hot feelings, too. When your life’s thread is held taut before you, fate’s hand curled around the blade to cut, you might make choices that are more rash than your usually level-headed ones. You may see things you denied or kept from yourself in a different way, things you thought you should never have, would never have are suddenly thrust into your arms. Those burning hot feelings can lead you into the arms of the one you love most. 

  
  


    Across the battlefield, mud walls are thrown against the myriad of spear-like projectiles, attempting to ward them off. Naruto’s kyuubi chakra still lights up the forces, keeping the fighters invigorated. Neji can feel it in him, too. He fights alongside several other Hyuuga, Hinata sticking close to Naruto’s side, and Neji to her. 

   Close to where they’ve planted themselves against the onslaught of the juubi, Neji’s kyuubi-enhanced byakugan watches as an earth-style user fails to keep a defensive wall up, and as if in slow motion, many things happen at once. 

   First, though Neji doesn’t have the sharingan, he can predict the trajectory of the errant wooden projectiles. Second, although Neji can’t read minds, he knows Hinata has seen them, too. 

    Together, the two cousins race toward Naruto.

 

    Arms outstretched, Hinata braces for impact. The only thing she notices however, is a hard thump, and a choked noise from behind her. 

 

   Neji knew exactly where she was headed the moment he glanced over. She loves him, and the love is an untouchable sort. There’s a pang of unsaid things rising to the surface, a fleeting memory of watching soft brown hair being twisted into place atop  _ her _ head. Neji attempts to clear his head. He can’t think of her, not now. Naruto is already shouting for a medic and reaching for Neji. 

   Neji is always cold, but it’s different right now, with Naruto holding him upright, he realizes that the many years Naruto has spent alone, did not rob him of his ability to reach out and touch someone so freely. Pride be damned, Neji allows himself to lean entirely on Naruto. Hinata stands behind Naruto, crying freely. Light begins to leech from the world, so Neji speaks what he assumes are his last words.

   His words are meant to rally Naruto, to emphasize the importance of him, of him succeeding, and how ultimately, how Naruto changed his path to a reality where he’d throw himself in the line of fire for the woman he once considered a pitiful existence. The words don’t seem to be enough once he’s said them, but beyond a lack of color, more sensations are being lost, and before he can fight against the tide, he is washed away in a sea of nothingness. 

 

    Tenten fights a medic ninja for the bashosen in her hands. She’s weak, exhausted, but ultimately okay. In shifts, the mid-range fighters are being ushered out and replaced with each other, going to the medic tents for healings of more serious wounds or brief rest. Tenten isn’t injured per say; but after using the legendary sage’s tool, she’s risking complete chakra depletion and that’s not a risk she can take. 

    The Kumo medic-nin waves her off, motioning for her to sit on a stool. 

   “I’m sorry I can’t do much, I can give you a little more chakra, but after that, it’s up to you to get rest in the big tents.” The medic-nin begins to let green healing energy into Tenten and she realizes just how tired she was. Adrenaline had kept her awake for as long as needed, but now she was seeing the appeal in a short rest. Three hours, and she’d be sent out to switch with another tired combatant. 

    Tenten is directed to one of the large tents in the center of the medic stations, and it’s mostly empty. Twenty cots stretch out on the floor and there’s no real rhyme or reason to the organization but politeness dictates that she choose one not directly next to someone if she can help it. She walks to the back and stops dead in her tracks when she recognizes a face she’d never mistake. 

   Neji is asleep on a corner cot, his flak jacket and standard-issue shirt gone, replaced with heavy bandaging. The first impulse she has is to wake him, but that’s absolutely wrong. He looks young in his sleep, but it’s obvious it’s not a peaceful sleep. His brow is furrowed, and there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Tenten takes a moment to appreciate that he’s without his hitai-ate, and the beautifully cruel lines of his curse mark are laid bare to her. She’d seen it before, during missions he would untie, then re-tie his covering to ensure it stayed on as they crossed through the trees, or trekked through deserts. They’d been all over this continent with each other, but still respectful of each other’s space, and this was one tender subject for him. 

   Tenten slid into the cot beside him and was glad for even the sound of his labored breathing because he was alive, alive, alive. 

 

   When Neji woke, one of the more senior medics was bent over him, and he blinked in the unreality of his current situation. He was in an unfamiliar tent, which was filled with other ninja, some asleep, some quietly bemoaning injuries he assumed. Shizune, he remembered her name at last, didn’t acknowledge his wandering look, she only kept a steady hand over him, the glow of chakra lighting her face. The thought that Shizune was overseeing him personally really meant one thing. He’d been gravely injured. 

   The memory of it rushed back to him in distorted pieces, the rampaging of a beast, fallen comrades, Hinata’s bright smile and Naruto’s easy kindness. His heart began to pound faster. If he was here, who was watching Hinata? Neji, trying to be respectful of the room of silent ninja, attempted to get up, holding both his palms out toward Shizune to communicate he was fine, or at least he would be once he could confirm that he was doing all he could to protect his friends. 

   Shizune responded with her own two handed signal. One that pressed him down into the bed as she carefully whispered to him, “move again and I’ll injure you again. I’ve spent hours healing you, and you’ve got to rest a bit more before you can even think about going back out there.” 

   The ninja in the cot beside him rolled under a standard issue blanket, and he briefly felt terrible for all the trouble he caused. He laid back down against the cot and Shizune returned to her healing.

   Neji still felt miserable. Physically, he could tell that the work was almost done, he was very nearly healed and from what he remembered, he’d been impaled by two awful spikes from the juubi. He should be dead, and he thought he was. It was in thanks to the medic-nin that he’d made it through, a marvel in and of itself. 

   Shizune helped him sit up, and for a brief moment, he felt a wave of vertigo, but it moved through him and Shizune began unraveling his bandages. The ones she removed were stained with his own blood, and he examined his pink skin where he’d been impaled. New, shiny scars to add to the collection. A ninja collected a great many things, weapons, stories and scars foremost of those. 

   Shizune seemed satisfied with what she saw and she handed him a long sleeved navy tee, the same as what he’d been wearing earlier, but this one was without the holes. Shizune ducked her head down in a silent goodbye and Neji watched her go, feeling less tired and more numb. She was right after all, he’d be no good if he came back too early. 

   Neji laid back down and glanced at the curious face he’d noticed earlier, but failed to consider until this moment. 

   Neji, a man of practiced indifference and controlled emotion, had found that he was suddenly lacking that strength at that very moment, and had to refrain from acting on a few sudden needs. Instead, his surprised intake of breath was all that gave him away. The Hyuuga were a stoic family for the most part, and his sudden reaction may be telling to someone who had been at his side for so many years. 

   There were a great deal of reasons why Tenten was the best part of team Guy. Or maybe the best part of his days. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and under the duress of this past week, he’d let a lot of things bog him down, but fate had offered him a respite from his woe.

   Tenten’s face was streaked with dirt and her smile dark, but her eyes were bright with tears. Neji considered all that stress again, but ultimately, it was those tears that made him roll carefully to one side of the cot, proffering the vacant side to her, one arm stretched out. 

   She gave him an unreadable look, swiped an errant tear across her dirty cheeks and slid out from her cot with the practiced silence of a top kunoichi. 

   An unexplainable feeling came over Neji as he tucked an arm around her, moved by his instinct rather than his brain. He could feel her heart thundering through her back and against his chest. In that moment, he felt the weight of a thousand missed chances to do just this. 

   But wasn’t this their way? Several thousand more times of silent communications between the two of the more restrained ninja in their team. Often, Tenten could be loud, frequently fraught with exasperation over Guy and Lee, but she was color in all the ways he was gray. And she’d been at his side in ways no one had before. Neji had teachers, plenty of them, between other Hyuuga, the academy, his team, someone usually stood in front, leading Neji on. Tenten was more, she offered companionship, but she didn’t pressure his direction.

    Following the course of the last few reckless moments, Neji moved on his own actions, damning the years of tampering his feelings, and pressed his lips to the top of her head. In his arms, Tenten sighed quietly into the darkness of the tent. 

 

   After Shizune left, Tenten watched the moment Neji realized who was next to him dawn across his face. A hitch in his breath, and he was steady again. But she’d seen it. 

   Knowing she still had to be quiet, but so glad to see he was not just living, but perfectly in order was too much. She felt as though the battle had stretched on weeks, but it had hardly been a day or two. The stress of it all, the relief. She gave him an approximation of a smile, but she was looking at him through the wobbled view of fresh tears. She blinked to clear her eyes, and almost felt embarrassed for her tears, but instead watched as Neji carefully slid to the side of his cot and lifted an arm up, beckoning her over. 

   Stunned, she moved mechanically, on autopilot. A sense of unrealness moved into her, surely this was still the dream. The cot was narrow, so she lay on her side and this fiction continued as Neji moved in behind her, carefully fitting an arm around her waist. 

   Neji, true to form, knew exactly the mechanics of laying with a woman, but not the application. His arm was tense, likely wondering where the line to be crossed was drawn on Tenten. The answer was easy, there were none where he was concerned, there was nothing she’d thought of more as they unrolled bedrolls side by side during missions. 

   Tenten remained still, afraid to shatter the illusion, to release the dream, but from behind, Neji pulled her just a little more into him and pressed a kiss to her head, just at the top. 

   Tenten let out a breath she’d been holding, and the dream continued, the illusion moved forward. He still held her, but there was no time to do anything else, she was falling.

Falling asleep, and further into her dream. 


	2. Chapter 2

When Tenten awakes, it’s to a gentle hand rocking her. She startles, long-adjusted reflexes orienting her, pulling her out of sleep. Her sudden movement jostles the person behind her, and she remembers where she is, and who she’s with. Neji carefully extricates himself from her and Tenten misses his presence immediately. There isn’t a whole lot of happiness around them right now, and shattering a piece of what she had, hurts. 

   Shizune stands above them, holding a finger to her lips in the universal signal of silence, and beckons her and Neji to follow her. As they follow her out of the tent, she stops occasionally to wake a few other ninja, and they file outside the tent. 

    Tenten stands with Neji, just inches apart and the strangeness of the actions he displayed in the tent seem to have passed. He’s standing at attention, face impassive as he awaits Shizune’s orders. Tenten straightens, too.

    “The shifts are changing again, and each one of you is to report back to your assigned field, and bring a scroll to the field coordinator to get another group of ninja traded out for their rest, too. There’s a mess tent on the north corner of the medic encampment and you have one half hour to begin back. I recommend eating, it may be some time before you’re all called back. If you have questions or medical concerns, the medic tent for admissions is toward the front, otherwise, you’re free to use the half hour any way you see fit.” Shizune begins to take her leave when another medic catches her by the arm and they begin a heated, hushed discussion and break off into the main medic tent in a hurry. The group of ninja left standing disperse, most toward the mess tent and Neji and Tenten are left standing, watching people as they rush by, faces grim. 

   Neji looks to Tenten expectantly, “where are you headed before you go back to company two?” 

   Tenten sighs wearily “I wish I could say I was hungry, but at this point, I don’t feel like having much of anything. I think I’m gonna use a solider pill on my way out and fill my canteen.” 

    “I’ll go with you. I’m feeling much the same. There isn’t much to eat that won’t taste like ashes until we can see the sun again.” 

    Looking up in the sky, Tenten notices the moon for the first time. It’s all wrong, it almost seems too close in the sky, and it’s gone a deep shade of red. 

   “Neji, what’s up with the moon?” She doesn’t look to him, still mesmerized by the sight. 

   “I have no idea. I could see it through the tent but it just reminds me of something. Like an eye.” 

   “Uchiha… they have a dojutsu like that…” Tenten whispers. Neji nods and draws her away, light hands on her shoulders, guiding her toward a water pump that’s been set in the ground. 

   Canteens full, they begin a short walk outside of camp, Tenten’s eyes on the moon still. Something is disturbing about it, and it’s got her heart racing. 

   They both know how little time is left, and how dangerous it will be, no one needs to say anything, in fact, they both say nothing at all. 

   Neji and Tenten go deeper into the tree line, and although they both know better, Neji takes her hand. The medic station is closer to where Neji will be headed, and in the quiet of the forest, the sounds of the battle reach them. 

   Groans of the juubi moving, like the sound of tree limbs moving in the wind. There are explosions. The sound of voices don’t quite carry, and without warning a loud blast rocks the area around them. 

   The force of the blast is so intense, it knocks Tenten off balance and Neji reaches for her, and brings her tight to his chest. A second blast moves through the night and Tenten clutches to him even though she’s firmly chakra sealed her feet to the ground. 

   Tentatively, Tenten places a hand on the spot she’d seen Shizune heal him and she looks up at his face, meeting his expression with iron will. 

   On tiptoes, she returns his sweet kiss, but on his lips. 

   It was already an unbalancing moment for Tenten, who’d long dreamt of Neji in this form, a Neji she could see that no one else could, but the third blast certainly didn’t help. 

   It was a mark of the moment’s intensity that this blast not only caught Neji unaware, but knocked him entirely over. They fall hard, Neji turning at the last moment to ensure Tenten fell on top. 

   In the dead leaves they lay. The moment stretches on and Tenten looks at Neji, who still hasn’t said anything, and she lets her weight lean into him. Carefully, he moves his hands to her waist. 

   They are kissing before she can even trace the moment back to when they weren’t. 

   This moment was different than she’d hoped for, but it wasn’t in a bad way. Instead of a gentle thing, this desperate scramble was a byproduct of the situation around them. Tenten pulls Neji upright and runs a hand through his hair, brushing out pieces of leaves with her stroke, marveling at the realization that something was happening. 

    Smaller explosions ring out from the main battlefield, and suddenly those stupid flak jackets are in the way. Tenten unzips and shucks the jacket off Neji, running hands over his chest. Neji pulls hers off, his hands fumbling at the zipper before adjusting her back into his lap. 

   Neji’s hands ghost up her waist, and Tenten hums an approval against his lips, pressing herself harder into his lap, enjoying knowing why suddenly his hands had gone still. 

   Tenten could feel him hard against her, and she loops a finger into the waist of his pants. A stray hand of Neji’s drifts up, meeting the line of her sports bra, but continuing on, pushing the bra up over her breasts. Tenten smiles against his lips and begins to kiss him anew, but instead, Neji pulls away, nearly gasping, his breathing hard. 

   In the dark, his eyes still shine and his hands drop to the hem of her shirt. “Tenten- I- I’m sorry. I don’t know where my head is.” Tenten hushes him, putting both hands on his shoulders.     

   “We don’t know what’s gonna happen, and we have to separate again, and if that’s the case, I want this, as long as you do, too.” 

    “Tenten, we’ll return to each other.” 

    Tenten felt a pang in her heart, she couldn’t let herself consider the alternative, so instead, she gave him a wicked smile and without getting out of out of his lap, takes her shirt and bra off in one movement and lets him get a good look. 

    Heat in the moment renewed, Neji pulls her close, stopping that smile with a bruising kiss. His hands glide up along her sides and cup her breast, rubbing circles over her hardened nipple. 

    Tenten unzips his pants and wraps her hand around his length, testing the movement of her hand in his boxer briefs. Neji breaks from her lips to kiss down her neck, then leans Tenten back a bit, letting her arch back. Tenten has to support herself with her hands on his knees as Neji brings his mouth to her breast, first his breath hot on her skin, then gentle as his tongue flicks her nipple and makes little circles. 

   She writhes a bit, grinding against his hard on, her good sense gone entirely. Tenten pulls away and stands, leaving a disoriented Neji sitting dazed, looking at her. 

   Before she loses her nerve, she slips out of her pants, then leaves her panties atop the pile. She returns to Neji, a bit more self consciously this time, and he barely recovers from his momentary loss of function. 

    This time, his hands run up her thighs, all the way up until his fingers brush her hips. He grasps firmly and meets her lips. 

    The kiss is a bit distracted, Neji moves his hand flat on her belly but his thumb goes down further, touching her in a way she hadn’t thought someone as stoic and traditional as Neji would know, but as his thumb makes a pass at the bundle of nerves settled atop her, she’s helpless to the noise that escapes her. 

   It’s obvious when she thinks about it, that Neji would know well where she’s most sensitive, his tenketsu training makes him well versed in anatomy, but the idea that he knows what to do with her means there’s something more boyish about Neji than she’d previously considered. 

   The circles he makes begin to push her to the edge, her legs weak. She stops his motions and and pulls his length more fully out of his pants, rubbing up and down, flicking her eyes up at his to make sure he was feeling good. He’s not looking at her, his eyes are closed, so Tenten positions herself above him and the movement gets his attention. Neither say anything, but there’s a confirmation passed in her shy smile and he leans his head back so she can kiss him. 

   Tenten settles herself down on him, and it hurts, at least for a moment. With her hands on his shoulders she finds the best position, feeling herself stretch a bit more, and she feels like the epitome of desire, naked in the forest, like a stranger to herself. Neji leans back, resting his weight on his arms behind him and giving Tenten more room to move. 

    She understands the mechanics of it, but hadn’t ever really considered anything happening to her but missionary in a bed and this is wild for both of them. The idea of anyone else knowing they’d done this is almost funny, and she doubts they’d believe her. 

   Finding a rhythm, she is glad for her athletic shape, as the movements of her on him start to wear on her a bit. She stretches her legs behind him and moves him steady in her. Neji groans under her and his pleasure is hers then too, as an orgasm hits her in a way she’s only practiced herself. 

    With her clamped on him, neither have the sense to stop what’s happening until Neji is gasping under her, and it’s then that she knows exactly what just happened. 

   Neji looks stricken for a moment, the veneer of passion starting to wear out and the realization that neither of them considered the endgame. 

   Sitting with her arms around him, she rests her head on his shoulder, the forest colder than it had felt before. 

    “I kinda lost my head there didn’t I?” Tenten laughs self-deprecatingly at herself. Neji murmurs something about his own distraction, but Tenten can tell he’s a little panicked. “It’s okay, I’ve talked to Sakura about things like this, I’ll just talk to a medic on my way back.” 

   Neji says nothing, but his shoulders relax a bit. In the distance, another explosion resounds.

   “We should report in, huh?” Tenten laughs a little nervously, feeling a little vulnerable naked, now that the heat of the moment has died down. She dresses while he adjusts himself, and she tries not to measure the silence in the moment. Neji isn’t really one to fill the space with noise, that would be her, so the only reason there’s nothing being said is because she’s not saying anything herself. 

   Once dressed, she helps him off the ground and they both stand for a moment, unsure of what to do. A line has been crossed, and whether it’s for better or worse remains to be seen. This particular moment isn’t great. They trudge our toward the camp so they can leave for their respective battlegrounds, and Neji walks a bit closer to her than usual. 

   Tenten reaches for his hand as the campsite comes into view, the reality of what set the last moments into action lay before them, and a shout raises up from the medic campsite. 

   Atop the red of the moon, black dots appear on its surface and they look awfully familiar. Tenten never got to know Sasuke very well, but she’d seen him fight in the chuunin exams and this shape was the same. The moon’s surface was dotted with tomoe and she was having trouble looking away. 

   Stretching across the sky, a great limb of a tree appears, the ground shuddering under her feet. In awe, she is unable to move, her mouth slack. From the limb, sheaths of cloth-like material unfurl, and dart downward at a great speed. 

    Beside her, Neji takes Tenten’s hand and tries to pull her away, though she is quite literally rooted. The material dropping from the tree makes two paths, one toward Neji, the other toward her. 

   Before Neji’s sudden action can happen, the strange cloth begins to wind around them, pulling them up toward the tree limb above. 

    Tenten is still dazed, and watches with some detachment as Neji beside her is wrapped, but still struggles. His eyes flash from the pale purple of the byakugan to a deeper purple, ringed with black. They’re ripped from each other and distantly, it makes her feel distressed. 

    Tenten is slowly wrapped entirely, cocooned in cloth, and across the way, Neji’s wrappings cover his face from her, and it’s the last thing she sees before her own wrapping closes, and so do her eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned! How would Tenten’s infinite tsukuyomi dream go, if she’d furthered her relationship with Neji and also Kishimoto wasn’t very bad at romance. Also, Neji dreams too, ya know.


	3. Chapter 3

When Tenten wakes, it’s pretty clear she’s not in her bed. The room is too bright, and the bed unfamiliar. It’s unusual for her to awake late enough that the sun is up, but she tosses around in the sheets a bit more, trying to clear her head and remember the night before. She doesn’t feel hungover, so she’s pretty sure she hasn’t committed a fatal error like she had on Ino’s last birthday…

   The only things she can come up with are fuzzy, memories just out of reach. Dreams? The clearest part of what she can remember last is Neji, and she feels her face warm a bit in reaction. 

   Tenten stretches and gets up. She’d been laying in a futon on a tatami floor and there’s a slight shift of reality. Tenten has a modern room, with a mattress on a bed frame and carpeting on the floor. This isn’t her room, so where is it? 

   In an alcove to the side of the room, one of her qipao dresses is hung, waiting for her. She sheds the light pajama top and bottoms she had on and tries to fold them and sets them on shelf in the alcove. 

    Once dressed, Tenten carefully slides the door open and looks out into an outside hall, facing a quiet garden and another traditional-style building. The silence is a bit unsettling, but she walks toward a pond set in the middle of the garden, with a little bridge that crosses over it. 

   She leans over the rail of the bridge to look at the pond and several bright koi swim by. It’s peaceful and lovely, and this energy is welcome after waking with that distressing feeling. 

   “Morning, Tenten.” The voice nearly causes Tenten to leave her skin behind as she startles into reality again. 

    Across the way, in the other building she’d seen, Hinata approaches, smiling kindly. She joins Tenten at the bridge and looks down with her. Tenten looks back and the fish are gone. 

   A slow bubbling from a stone fountain splashes into the water, and where she is makes perfect sense. She’s on the Hyuuga compound, the only question is, why?

   “Are you excited to see Neji-nii-san return from his mission? I know it’s quiet around here, especially with Hanabi out.” The question is plain enough, asking about Neji since they’re teammates is nothing she finds strange. But Tenten pauses on her answer, feeling a loss for words for a moment. She can’t remember expressing her feelings for Neji to Hinata before, and it seems a bit like Hinata isn’t asking how she feels about a teammate returning. 

    Hinata is smiling again, and while Tenten has been feeling slightly unmoored since she woke up, she’s thankful Hinata is here. 

    “Oh, well, yeah. Um, always.” Tenten feels nervous suddenly, like she’s taking a test she hasn’t studied for. Something is off. 

    “I know I get nervous when Naruto-kun takes off. It’s why I visit Father during his missions, to keep myself busy.” Tenten puzzles out the last few things she said. Hinata isn’t living here? And openly is discussing Naruto? 

   Tenten can’t keep dodging the questions, so she takes a different route, “are you gonna meet Neji down by the gates?” 

   Beside her, Hinata giggles a bit. “Did you forget Naruto-kun was with him? I’ll be meeting him there. Did you wanna go soon?” 

    Still unsure, Tenten agrees. The longer she plays along with this scenario, the sooner she can remember what’s happening. 

    Tenten and Hinata walk toward the entrance gates, chatting a bit. Strangely, it’s Hinata that’s directing the conversation, she talks about Hanabi and Konohamaru leaving for a month to go with the fire daimyo as he visits another foreign dignitary, and Hinata is positive she’ll be misbehaving. 

   Udon and Moegi are watching the gates today, and they wave from their posts as Hinata and Tenten approach. 

    “Have Neji-nii-san and Naruto-kun arrived yet?” Hinata asks.  

   “Not yet! It’s been quiet but both your boys are still on the way.” Moegi winks playfully and Hinata blushes at the implication, Tenten simply balks. Again, it would be one thing for Hinata to know her true feelings for Neji, but absolutely unfathomable that Moegi might know. Tenten has barely said anything to her before, let alone share something so private. 

   Beside Moegi, Udon sniffs loudly, “you guys, I think they’re back.” Sure enough, in the distance, three ninja begin closing the distance in the clearing. One ninja pulls ahead, a sudden blur of orange headed toward them. 

   Naruto nearly crashes into Hinata, lifting her up and spinning her around before planting a kiss on her. True to form, Hinata is still red in the face, but this display of affection seems normal. 

   A bit further back than the more energetic Naruto, Neji and Shino cross the gate entrance and Shino walks over to the two chuunin and Neji heads to Tenten. 

   Tenten suddenly feels as shy as Hinata should have been. Neji catches her hand and tugs on it, and Tenten stutters a greeting, “welcome back, Neji.” 

    Neji smiles at her, and pulls on her hand again, leading her outside the gate where they duck around just enough to not be visible to the other ninja. 

   Once they’re behind the gate, Neji takes her into his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He releases her and pulls a chain out from under his shirt and unhooks it. 

   Two rings dangle from the chain and he pulls them off, handing her one and putting the other of the two on. They’re simple, his is just a band, hers has a few very small inlaid diamonds. She stares wonderingly at it. 

   “Is something wrong?” He asks gently. 

   “Ah! Nope. Just making sure you didn’t bend it…” She covers for her absolute bafflement and slides the ring on her left hand, where it fits perfectly. 

   Neji smiles in response, and in a fashion she’s a bit more used to, gives her a dry look. 

   “You asked me to wear this as a symbol of us as I travel, you think I’d let that symbol bend?”

   Tenten was left speechless for a moment. A candid Neji? It was too much to ask. Pair that with a Neji who seemed to care for Tenten enough to wear her ring around his neck and she just can’t make heads of the situation. But the question still remains unanswered so Tenten plods on, trying her best to adjust to the conversation.

    “Well, no, but there’s no telling what trouble you can get into with Naruto along.” Tenten goes for playful, hoping if she acts as herself, maybe everyone else will, too.

   Neji laughs softly and pulls her back into his arms. Tenten lets him fit her against him and encircles him tentatively with her own arms. To her knowledge, she’s never had the sort of comfortable relationship with Neji where they would casually touch, so this reality of Neji initiating a sweet embrace is too strange.

   However, Tenten sees no reason to stop it, it’s confusing how she ended up here, but it’s exactly as she wished they could be. It’s almost like a dream.  

   As Neji takes her hand once more and leads her back inside the gates and Neji waves politely to Naruto and Hinata, who’ve joined Shino in talking to the younger chuunin.  

   “I’m gonna go debrief with Hokage-sama, but after I’ll be right back home to you.” Neji shoots a glance at the gate attendants and then gives Tenten another sudden kiss on the mouth. 

   Neji takes off with Shino and Naruto and head to the Hokage, leaving Tenten in the dust, sorely confused. 

    It really is like a dream. She lifts her hand up to inspect the ring and can’t remember anything about it, like when she got it. 

    Hinata approaches, her hair a little mussed but her face is bright, and happier than Tenten can remember seeing. “Naruto-kun and I are going to Ichiraku’s after he debriefs, do you think you and Neji-nii-san will want to join?” 

   “Oh, thank you, but I’ve missed Neji and I think, uh, we’re gonna stay in together for the rest of the day.” Tenten blushes at her own suggestion that Neji would stay with her, but Hinata seems to take the meaning a bit more suggestively and she blushes right back. 

   “Oh, I understand completely. Naruto-kun doesn’t want to leave our room after missions sometimes.” Hinata’s blush hits a high and she averts her eyes. 

   Tenten coughs, covering her shock. Is she insinuating she’s sleeping with Naruto? It’s too much for Tenten to consider, and then the reverse is true too, Hinata thinks Tenten is sleeping with Neji. Tenten twists the ring around her finger and considers again. Maybe they are sleeping together. Or at least, Neji seems to be courting her in some fashion. 

   Hinata and Tenten part ways, Tenten unsure of where else to go, aside from the Hyuuga compound where all her stuff seems to be. The day continues to be more and more dreamlike, with Tenten living in a moment where one of her deepest wishes is true, Neji is hers, here in this moment. Something she’s wished for but only in dreams. 

   Tenten remembers suddenly the foggy dreams she’d been trying to hold onto before she woke this morning. They’re the first actual memories she has had today, and thinking back, she seems to be missing a lot of time. 

   Could this be a dream, too? A complete fabrication? She pinches herself. Predictably, it hurts. But does it hurt because she knows what a pinch should feel like? 

   Tenten and her musings have taken her all the way back to the compound and at the center where the garden lies, Hinata’s father, Hiashi stands at the bridge overlooking the water. 

   She approaches him slowly but stops for a moment. “Hiashi-sama?” Her voice is louder than she intended and it’s not the first time she’s felt like a bull in a china shop in the quiet Hyuuga compound. 

   The man turns toward her, his smile easy. “Hizashi,” he corrects kindly, “but you know I would like if you called me Father, too.” She pauses on her ascent up the bridge. 

   “Have you settled in fine?” Hizashi motions for her to join him at his side, so she climbs up and looks down at the water again. Orange and white splotched fish circle in the water again, and Tenten watches them swim. 

   “I think everything is fine. It’s beautiful here, of course.” Tenten gives a bland answer, unsure of how to gauge how long she’s been staying there. 

   “A dream is always more beautiful than the reality, don’t you think?” Tenten stops watching the fish to glance back at Hizashi, who is still smiling blandly. 

   “Unless it’s a nightmare, I guess that’s true.” Tenten can’t keep her gaze on his face, feeling the moment shift again. The water is dark and empty beneath them again, the only motion left is the ripples left from the fountain bubbling into the water.

  “Who decides whether it’s a nightmare? We steer our own course in dreams more than any other place. Although, I’ve never been any good at fighting my fate in dreams. Often I dream of my wife, and the dream is double-edged. She’s beautiful as she’d always been, but when I wake, she’s gone again and I’m not sure whether it was s gift or not to live the lie of the dream.” 

   “Hi- I mean, Father, I wish I had gotten to meet her.” Tenten is reeling. There’s something she’s struggling to remember rising to the surface and the conversation is getting under her skin in some way. 

   “She was lovely, and I’m sure you two would have been fast family. She was a fighter, just like you. Oh! Neji! Your mission is over already?”

   Neji appears at her side, placing a hand on the small of her back 

   “Already? It was nearly three weeks.”

   “And you left Tenten here with me this whole time. Unthinkable.” Hizashi laughs and reaches out to muss Neji’s hair and the act of messing up those perfect locks strikes Tenten as odd. 

   Neji plays at being frustrated, but much like he does when Guy-sensei acts foolishly, she can tell he’s still fond of his actions. Neji bends toward Tenten and kisses her forehead, “I’m gonna wash up, and I’ll be right back.” 

   Neji walks off and leaves Tenten alone with Hizashi once more. The older man is peering at her with intensity, studying. 

   “Do you prefer the kindness of dreams?” He asks, returning to the pond. Tenten looks down into the water, but no fish are back. 

   “If I had a choice? I would still pick the reality, I think. It wouldn’t be true to anyone else if everyone in my dream was just acting according to my wishes. I would like having my happiness, but if the cost was others around me didn’t have their own like, autonomy, then nothing would be the truth.” Tenten sighed, feeling weary. 

    “Interesting. Rather face the ugly truths of the world than have everyone around, happy and peaceful? You’re a kind girl, Tenten.” Hizashi stretches, facing her with a bright smile, this one less strange than the last ones. “This old man is going to retire for a bit before dinner. Enjoy a nice evening with your husband, the two of you are always working hard.” 

   With that, he walks away. Tenten is left speechless once more. She’d suspected something like this, pieces not quite right finally falling into place. 

    Married. To Neji. There’s no way this was her reality. Tenten turns away from the pond and heads toward the room she woke up in this morning. 

    Tenten lays on the bed, staring at the ceiling. If she’s married, why can’t she remember what was the likely the most important moment of her life (second to her jonin promotion)? 

   She looks around the room for evidence of their life together, but the room is sparse. The most ornamentation in the room is actually the bashosen, which suddenly strikes her as odd. How did she get a legendary tool of the Sage of Six Paths? 

   She carefully takes it off the wall, checks it in case it’s a henge jutsu, and gives it a tiny wave. 

She feels a pull of her own jutsu collected into the wave, and she sends the futon bedding colliding into the wall. 

  Wonderingly, she stares at the tool and carefully hangs it back up. As far as she can tell, it’s the real thing, which circles back to how did she end up with it?

   Tenten fixes the bedding once more and collapses onto the futon. Being the weapons specialist she is, it would be a shining moment to get her hands on the bashosen, so the memory of it should be there. 

   Maybe she has amnesia. How much time could she have lost? Marriage came and went with no impact on her, and it should have been so much more. It was driving her crazy. Everything as far as she could tell was perfect. A relationship with Neji, a peaceful home life with a family that seemed to want her. Why did something seem so wrong?

   The shoji door slid open silently and Neji enters, wearing only his clean white pants and toweling his hair dry. Also, he’s shirtless. Tenten feels hot, but she throws the covers over her face to give him privacy. Or herself a break. 

   Neji sets himself down next to her and slides under the sheets. Tenten tenses up a bit, trying to reconcile the strangeness of this. It seems like here, Neji is completely at ease with Tenten, used to touching her and generous with love. She needed this so badly growing up but it took Neji a long time to forgive his clan and pay attention to his team.

   That last thought halts her racing mind for a moment. Why did he need to forgive his clan? She looks at his face quickly, his forehead is clear and free of any marks. Neji pulls her in close, letting her fit against his bare chest. 

   A flood of memory pushes past, and it bowls her over. This isn’t her reality. Neji isn’t truly hers, and his father isn’t alive. Neji isn’t free from his own complicated chains, the curse mark that paints his forehead also formed his beliefs and personality. To have Neji without both his dark and light seems like an untruth. 

   Wherever Tenten is, she’s not home. This life isn’t hers. 

   As though she had just voiced it into existence, shreds of strange light start peeling apart the ceiling above her. 

    For a millisecond in time, a duality of realities exist. In one, Neji is frozen in bed beside her, looking to her with a sweet expression. Ahead, The sky is still dark, but lightening up as the sunrise comes up over a line of trees. 

   Tenten sits up slowly, leaving a strange bed of cloth in a pile on the ground. Around her, other ninja are rising out of other nests, bewildered faces meeting others in kind. 

   There are ninja around her struggling to their feet, and some are crying quietly. The dream she had may have been similar to what those around her suffered and Tenten looks around for the person she needs most. Some cocoons are still wrapped, and one near Tenten is moving eerily. 

   Carefully, she cuts at the layers with a kunai, ensuring she doesn’t hurt the person underneath. Neji comes out of the husk gasping and when he sees Tenten, his look his guarded. There’s no time to ask what’s happened, voices in the ranks are shouting for help with getting others out of their own wraps. Neji allows Tenten to help him up, but he isn’t meeting her face. 

   The two work diligently together, unearthing ninja one by one until the area about the medical encampment is cleared. The sun is bright above them, and the clear skies seem to communicate something more. Peace has come. Either Naruto has done it, or things worked out otherwise. The pieces will come together after the collective ninja battalion regroup for a debriefing.

   For now, Tenten is left staring listlessly out into the confusing scene, knowing what more is left to do once they’ve figured out why this strange jutsu seems to have broken. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

As Neji and Tenten hear the shouts over the camp, he activates his byakugan, searching the camp for the sign of distress. Other ninja are pointing up toward the sky, but most of them are standing stock still, entranced at something. 

   Beside him, Tenten has her face fixed on the moon. Looking up at the sky, he recognizes the swirl of a sharingan’s tomoe and has a pretty good idea of what’s happening. Tenten has her hand out, as though she’d been reaching for him but something stopped her. He grabs her and tries to pull her away, to flee, it seems useless to run from the moon but they can’t stay anymore. 

   Tenten is pliable and moves a bit with him, but her legs are stuck to the ground, and before he can try to stop the circulation of chakra flowing to her legs so he can pick her up, a giant branch reaches above them, strange fabric shooting from the limb and heads toward them. 

   Neji yanks at Tenten once more, and as far as he can tell, she’s not present in the moment. Her eyes go purple, with a series of black lines encircling the pupil. 

   Beyond his own strength, the two are ripped apart from each other and he watches as Tenten, warm in his arms just minutes ago, is taken by the strange jutsu.

   Neji is wrapped, too. The binding keeping him still. He holds on for as long as he can, but eventually, his reality begins to cloud, and the cocoon closes over his face, blotting out the world. 

 

   Neji wakes in his own futon, his finger is killing him though, prompting him to look at it. A single, silken thread cuts into his smallest finger, and Neji pulls at it to gain some slack, so to let some blood flow in. 

   Neji, raised in tradition, steeped in superstition, understands at once what he sees before him. The Thread of Fate, and at the other end of the line, his future. 

   The thread gives no slack, so he stands and looks about the room for his clothes. Neatly folding his sleepwear, he changes and follows the cord toward the sliding doors. The pressure doesn’t quite change, but as he experiments with a step back, his finger begins to throb again. 

   As Neji moves out onto the courtyard, he doesn’t need to collect the thread he’s following, it simply adjusts for the distance he begins to close, and while it is clearly leading him out, the thread doesn’t seem to interact with anything physical. 

    The thread leads him out into the village, its path seems indirect, but purposeful. He passes his father’s memorial, and as he goes by, a ghostly young vision of himself, steely-eyed and defiant stands over the grave. He stops for a moment to watch, a bit of resentment burning in his chest still. He understands the sacrifice his father made for both Hinata and her uncle, but while any lingering bad feelings toward Hinata no longer remain, he still doesn’t feel strong enough to look at Hiashi without a trace of distaste. 

  He must have stood too long here, reminiscing, because the tug on the thread continues, a bit more insistent this time. 

   The memorial isn’t too far from where he’s led next. The ninja academy no longer seems as large of a building as it once had, and almost seems a bit worn with the many years of abuse it’s taken. Outside the building, an indistinct class trains. A very young Neji works hard at cornering a young Lee, whose enthusiasm had baffled him, and earned a begrudging respect through it. Without much effort, that idiot ninja had wormed his way into Neji’s heart, though it would be a great deal of time before he realizes what a kind friend he had in Lee.  

   Neji leaves the scene before the inevitable end of the fight, and before a young Neji says hurtful things to Lee to cover for his own inability to change his perceived hand in fate. 

    Once he’s arrived at the next destination, he pauses in the grass of the training grounds, searching for the ghost of a particular memory. Guy-sensei has paired Neji up with Tenten for their first match, and Neji is still loathe to admit he was horrible to her on purpose. He refused to let her make headway, or practice his own defense in letting her try some taijutsu on him. Instead, this apparition of his mercilessly comes at Tenten, taking out his frustration on a girl he’s known hardly an hour. Tenten is not a strong close combatant, but using a long bo staff, keeps Neji mostly at a distance. Neji looks away when he finally gets a solid hit in, and a young Tenten is defeated and helped up by Guy-sensei. Neji feels shame again, hurting Tenten over and over again during training became commonplace, but Tenten grew stronger, refusing to be a pitiful creature to Neji. This is where he began to notice that a fierce young lady was growing up beside him. 

   The thread leads him over to the far side of the village, and he knows this path well. The village has been empty for sometime, only ghosts walk by, all ignoring Neji. It is his dream, after all. Distantly, he wonders if his active mind was supposed to be a part of this. He remembers vividly the last thing he saw. Tenten’s wide eyes going dark. Whatever jutsu is holding him in place, genjustu or otherwise, he needs to get back to Tenten. There’s so much he left unsaid, and if this is it for him, he’ll spend eternity wishing he’d spent the last moment telling Tenten properly how he felt. The two of them had barely spared a thought, thinking those moments may be their last moments, and Neji never got to say what he should have said. That he loved her. 

   Now, he may have ruined everything. She bared herself to him just moments before she was ripped away, and now it was an unsure thing if he’d ever be able to be with her again. 

   Neji started on the flight of stairs ahead of him, and each one lessened the tight wrap of red thread around his finger.

   Tenten’s apartment door is already open, cautiously, he opens it enough to walk in. Tenten is sitting on the couch, idly flipping through a weapon catalog, and she looks up at him as he enters. All he can see is the short distance between them, and the thread on her finger, visible as she holds the magazine. 

   Neji takes a few steps forward, and Tenten gives him a radiant smile. She sets the magazine down and Neji freezes. 

   Tenten is rounded with child, and she lets the hand threaded with their fate sit upon her stomach. 

   “Welcome home, Neji.” Her voice is sweet, but there are a thousand thoughts thrumming through him. He did this, careless of her future, he took away her career as a ninja to raise a child out of wedlock, he did this. How can he look at her when he knows how important her life in the field is? 

   Against the pull of the thread, Neji backs out, hitting the rail of the balcony before turning around and running down the hall to the stairs. There’s a sharp release on his finger, it’s not a snap, not exactly, but as he runs, a rush of red birds push past, launching into the sky, feathers slowly falling in their wake. The open door that led to Tenten is empty, and before he has time to figure out his next move, there’s a sawing noise, and light breaks through the already sunny day. 

   Tenten stands above him, panting, a kunai in her hand. Neji can’t bear to look at her, and accepts her hand as she pulls him out and into the medic encampment, where many other ninja are crawling out of similar cocoons. 


	5. Chapter 5

   No one seems to have been spared from the strange jutsu that grabbed Neji and Tenten, so the Ninja around the area are in different states of confusion and weakness. Neji and Tenten work together in searching for any Ninja that are still trapped in the cocoons and the general consensus is that everyone also believes it was a genjutsu-type jutsu. Neji’s byakugan is at a premium, he’s quickly tasked with search and rescue while Tenten hangs back with the medics, receiving the new groups of awakening ninja and assessing damages.

    The sun rises and scouting groups depart in different directions, trying to figure out what is going on in the other battlefields. Slowly, information from scouting groups begin to trickle in. The war is over, and the moods are high.

   Ninja clearing up the medic encampment are laughing together, discussing what sorts of things they want to do once the dust has settled. Tenten is elated when one of the scouting teams brings back Lee and Guy-sensei. Guy-sensei isn’t doing well, but apparently Naruto had healed him somehow enough so that he could stabilize. Shizune takes over the caring for him and Lee and Tenten join the efforts of clearing up the half-destructed mess of the encampment.

   “And then Guy-sensei opened the eighth gate and delivered a kick to Madara that was so powerful that even Madara claimed him to be the most powerful of all Ninja!”

   “The eighth gate? Are you sure? Isn’t that supposed to be certain death?” Lee isn’t a liar, and Tenten knows it, but whatever happened out there certainly changed the rules for the Ninja world. Guy-sensei sleeps on a cot under a tent that was salvaged after the giant limb of a tree fell into the camp, his leg is crushed and by the hushed sounds of the two medics overseeing him, the damage is done. It’s not likely he’ll be back to his form again and Tenten aches for him. Guy-sensei and Tenten have been more than a team, they’ve been family. When it was apparent that Tenten’s chakra control was less suited to traditional jutsu, he immediately created a work-around for her, teaching her all sorts of weapons and sealing formulas. He was in many ways, a father.

  Lee wasn’t as energetic as he usually was, his stress focused on Guy.

   “I’m so glad you made it, Lee. I can’t believe you were right there while this unfolded. Neji was here, but they needed him for search and rescue.”

   “How is he!? That injury was not something an ordinary ninja could walk away from. Leave it to Neji and the extraordinary leaf medic-nin! I’ll keep training and the three of us will continue Team Guy!” Lee begins doing vigorous air punches and Tenten has to back out of the way.

   Something Lee said suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. In the confusion and lost day in what is now being called the “Infinite Tsukuyomi”, and a day of salvaging camp equipment and other ninja, Tenten had forgotten something rather crucial.

   “Wait, Lee… do you know where Sakura is?”

    Lee perked up at the sound of Sakura’s name. “She’s with Team Seven! They’re the real heroes here… after that creepy rabbit lady crawled out of the tree and everyone went into sleep, they managed to save everyone! I don’t really understand it, but that’s what happened!”

    “Focus, Lee. Where is Team Seven?” Tenten rubbed her temples in frustration, but the normalcy of Lee’s energy was sort of soothing.

   “Uh, here’s the thing. Everyone is saying that Naruto and Sasuke fought for their own dreams and Naruto’s dream finally reached Sasuke, but also, they’re both critically injured. Tsunade-Sama and Sakura are already bringing them back to Konoha ahead of everyone.”

   Tenten felt a slight clench in her heart. Time was of the essence for this particular matter, and with Sakura at least a days travel away, she’d be losing precious time. Not to mention it could be seen as abandoning her post if she took off.

   Unfortunately, this left one option.

   Tenten stands in the medic line, shifting uncomfortably. There are many ninja around, most of them injured, but a few are present for chakra-depletion related exhaustion. The medic that lets Tenten in a small tent is a shinobi of the sand, whose team of medics are being trained like the Leaf-nin after Tsunade-sama and Sakura had helped set up better training with the Kazekage.

   Explaining the situation was worse than an injury, but the medic listened patiently, and Tenten thanked her lucky stars she wasn’t having this conversation with Shizune.

   The medic, however, was at a loss for help.

   “We really don’t have any supplies for something like that, and if Sakura-san knew a jutsu, it’s not one I know of. You do, um, have options of course. It’s a little early, but at three weeks you could consider terminating the pregnancy.” Tenten felt sick, she shook her head vigorously, suddenly the idea was worse. She wished Sakura was here, someone who could offer suggestions and comfort.

   “There’s also adoption, if you choose to carry the child to term.” Tenten knew this option best. As an orphan, she’d wondered if she was left in Konoha as a rejected toy from parents who didn’t want her, or maybe they were faithful shinobi who died in service. Either way, their identities had never been revealed to her.

   The medic-nin leaned in a little, voice sympathetic, “have you talked to your partner about options yet? That could help you decide, too.”

   Tenten stood suddenly, “thank you so much for your time- I have to go.” She was backing out of the tent before the medic had time to call out.

    Tenten took off running once she cleared the area. She stood alone, in the same forest where she and Neji had shared that intimate moment, and she cried.

   She wasn’t under any impression that Neji would feel obligated to her, and honestly, his pragmatic attitude toward most things made her feel like she knew what he’d suggest. She lay a hand flat on her belly, knowing full well there wasn’t anything to feel, but the sudden connection she had was undeniable. She would have this child, and she would love them.

 

   Neji was taken across many battlefields, where he searched under rubble and the random detritus of war for survivors. It was grim, and it kept him busy, but at night he always thought of Tenten. His duty had led him several weeks out, and the others in his search and rescue group had come to the agreement that all had been found that could be found. They would return to their respective villages within the next day.

   Kiba was the only other Konoha resident in his group, so the two of them headed out early the next morning. Kiba was tolerable when there was no one to showboat for, and either Neji was of no threat to him or maybe the war had gifted him some restraint. Whatever it was, Neji was thankful.

   When they began their familiar trek through Fire Country, against his better judgment, Neji tries a nonchalant slide into his idea of casual conversation.

   “Does the Inuzuka Clan sort out traditional marriages? It seems like most of your clan is free to do as they please, but you’re still a distinguished clan, at least as far as the Hyuuga believe.” Neji has to speak up a bit more than usual, as Akamaru is leading Kiba further ahead, but Kiba shoots an amused look back at Neji.

   “Does the Hyuuga Clan think “traditional” marriage is the only sort available?” Kiba pats the side of Akamaru and the ninken slows his pace.

   Neji looks pointedly at him. Kiba should know, he’s been teammates with a Hyuuga heiress for years now.  

   Kiba laughs, “fair enough. Yeah, the Inuzuka isn’t so wrapped up in tradition for anything, really. Hana is way past what’s considered normal marriage age and no one seems concerned. You thinking about Tenten?” Tactless and almost gleeful at Neji’s sudden disinterest, Kiba keeps going, “well, I’m not super great with my own eyes but you only acknowledge two girls in this village and one is your cousin, so that seemed reasonable to think. I bet your clan isn’t cool with ninja with no name to them?”

   “I wasn’t thinking about her. It was hypothetical.”

   “Of course. So, hypothetically, you’re interested in Tenten.”

   “Stop. Forget I asked.” Neji waves off the offending words Kiba left in the air.

   “You’re just making it more obvious. Don’t you think it’s better you try talking to someone about it? It’s obvious it’s on your mind, or else you wouldn’t’ve brought it up to me.”

    Neji doesn’t reply, but keeps pushing forward, hoping the gates show up ahead soon, though he knows there’s still a few miles left of the journey.

   “If you care for her, you’re gonna have more uncomfortable conversations like this.”

   The jibe works, “it doesn’t matter, because it’s not happening. I… screwed up.” Neji says, surprising himself at the admission.

   “With Tenten? Whatever it is, I don’t think you are convinced. Why would you be considering marriage? My mom would say that war could make anyone feel things they didn’t want to show in normal circumstances. Think about how many of us are only here because of the Third Ninja War. I’ll bet that since things have calmed down, you’ll be able to fix whatever happened with you and her.” Kiba seems so sure, that Neji’s mood lifts a little.

    Neji just needs a plan to make it right.


	6. Chapter 6

It’s been five weeks since Tenten last saw Neji, and advance word has been sent that the teams doing search and rescue are dispersing, which means Neji should be home today. 

   It’s also no coincidence that Tenten finally worked up the courage to make an appointment with Sakura at the hospital on the same day of Neji’s return. It was a bit of maneuvering to coordinate with someone who is essentially the director of the hospital, but Sakura didn’t mind fitting her in during the hustle and bustle of her day. 

   Tenten swings her legs as they dangle off the examination table, waiting for Sakura to come. When the pink-haired medic arrives, she’s still eating a rice ball hastily, holding a clipboard under her arm and is completely out of breath.

   “I’m sorry! It’s still so crazy around here since the war ended. We’re still admitting people and training new medics.. It’s been hard.” Sakura sits beside Tenten on the exam table.

    “Well, congratulations on your promotion! That’s huge. I heard Tsunade is stepping down from being the director here, too.” Reflexively, Tenten lays a hand on her stomach, a habit she’s found comforting lately.

    “Yeah! Ino and I are talking big plans! We haven’t recovered the full building yet since Pein’s attack, but we have some ideas of how to use some of the old buildings we haven’t leveled yet for other specialty medical centers.” Sakura rambles, but her smile is effusive. Tenten hasn’t seen so much of her lately, but this is certainly a markedly better mood than how anyone was feeling before the war. 

   “God, I’m sorry. I scheduled you but didn’t ask what you needed, I just figured if you were coming to be me directly, it was important, and I’m just rambling.” Sakura finishes the last of the rice ball and gets off the table to face Tenten. 

    “It’s okay! Honestly, there haven’t been many people to talk to since everyone has been gone to clean up from this whole mess.”

    “Ah, that’s right! I heard the search and rescue teams were being recalled this week! Neji must be coming soon.” Sakura waggles her eyebrows at Tenten, who looks away. 

   “That wasn’t weird or anything. What’s up with you and Neji?” Sakura pries. 

    Again, Tenten chides herself at being transparent. Does everyone know how she feels? It was weird enough it was acknowledged in her dream, but it’s bled into reality as well. 

    “You know, it may be best if I just uh, come out and say it. On the night of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, 

Neji and I.. we, uh,” Tenten feels heat on her face, a sure fire blushing spreading across her cheeks. 

    Sakura looks steadily at her, her expression changing into something more businesslike. 

    “Ah, I think I know where you’re going with this. It’s fine. I’ll ask you as I’d ask anyone else then, if it helps.” Tenten nods to this. 

   “Did you use protection? Any preventative to protect yourself from becoming pregnant?” 

    Tenten stares at her hands. “No.”

    “Have you missed a cycle?” 

    “Yes.” 

    “Taken a pregnancy test?”

    “Yes.”

    Tenten can hear Sakura clicking a pen over and over. 

    “I suppose you’re here because of a positive test, huh? Does Neji know?” 

    “Well, I haven’t seen him since we woke from the Tsukuyomi. And I hadn’t taken a test yet.”

    “Are you going to tell Neji?” 

    “...eventually.” Sakura leans in close and gives Tenten a hug. 

     “It’s your body, your choice. And I’ll let you decide how to tell him, or when. There is one thing, though, that you do have to do, and I’m required to ensure you do to. But as your friend, I’ll let you tackle this as you want to. You have to tell the Hokage.” 

    “Kakashi?!” Tenten shrieks

    “Shhhh! Yes, Kakashi- _ sama _ . When a shinobi becomes pregnant, you have to inform them.” 

    Tenten flops onto the bed dramatically. She was already sweating telling Sakura, now this news is the worst, barring telling Neji, of course. 

    “Now? Should I tell him now?” Tenten looks up at Sakura, who’s giving her a weak smile.

    “Sooner is better.” 

    Tenten groans and Sakura chuckles. 

     “It’ll be fine, now lay flat so I can get you in and out.” 

 

    Sakura runs a few typical tests for a routine physical, but also takes some blood and checks on Tenten’s still invisible baby bump. 

    It’s late afternoon by the time Tenten heads to the Hokage tower and her timing couldn’t have been better. Or worse. 

    Neji and Kiba are making their way down the main thoroughfare and Tenten briefly considers bolting, but considering the two best sensory ninja of the Leaf are directly ahead, it doesn’t seem like a likely success.  

    Tenten stops in her tracks and waves at the two of them, waiting for them to get closer. 

    Neji is giving her a rather pained smile and it sets her heart ahead a few beats. What’s got him so worked up? 

    Kiba looks between them, “hey Tenten! Glad you’re home safe. We didn’t hear much out there about where everyone is, but Konoha shinobi are made of stronger stuff!” Akamaru barks in agreement, or at least that’s what Tenten assumes. 

   Neji still hasn’t said anything, and Kiba turns around to glare at him. 

   “I’m glad you’re okay, too! Both of you, of course.” Tenten says, only looking at Kiba. Akamaru barks again in response and nuzzles at her hand. “Oh, I missed you, too!” Tenten gives him a good scratch behind the ear. 

    “Tenten, can we talk?” Neji says suddenly. Kiba gives a laugh like a bark and Neji shoots him a sharp look. Tenten expected a talk, but that Kiba could have any idea of what the talk is, is unusual. Neji doesn’t discuss much, unless it’s with Tenten. A lot of his stressors are dealt with through meditation. 

   Kiba picks up the meaning in the words though, and throws a hand up in a farewell and continues to the Hokage tower, presumably to chat to the other staff. 

   Neji and Tenten start a walk together without saying much at first, and while she feels awkward, and the small talk they share is a bit stunted, she lets herself relax. It’s Neji, they’ve been a team for over a decade.

   “On the night of the Tsukuyomi…” Neji starts. Tenten meets his gaze and while he’s looking at her, and while he keeps his face carefully impassive, a light blush colors his face. 

   Tenten nods, letting him steer the conversation, but physically steers him, pushing him toward a stone bench. 

   “I wanted to be clear about it… it wasn’t my best moment.” Neji looks out onto the street ahead, but it’s an unfocused sort of look. The start of this conversation is already a train wreck, his words echo hollowly in her.

   “Not your best, huh?” Tenten repeats. 

    “Well, I wasn’t really trying to let things go that far.” Neji states plainly, his words are never dressed up, but Tenten wishes for a moment he’d consider his word choice better. 

    “I’m sorry I let things get out of hand, and I was hoping that it wouldn’t change things between us. We’re a good team, and I uh, value that.” 

    Tenten clenches fists at her side. He  _ values _ her? Is she a commodity or some sort of handy tool for him? Tenten takes a deep breath before she says anything potentially vicious, or worse, cries. 

    “It’s fine, Neji. Nothing has to change, we’ll still be a team. Anyway, I have to go, and I’m sure you’ll need to talk to the Hokage for the mission briefing. I’ll see you around.” Tenten gets off the bench quickly, leaving Neji before he can say a proper goodbye. 

   As she speeds off, she can hear him in the distance shout for her to wait, but as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, Neji would rather not make a scene, which would surely happen if he chased her.

   Tenten races back to her apartment, racing the tears she feels building up.

    She didn’t tell him she was pregnant, and this can only go on for so long, eventually she’ll start showing, and eventually others will question her, but for now, this will only be known to herself. And Sakura. And the Hokage. 

   Tenten flops on her bed, her angry tears sinking into the bedsheets before they make any real appearance. 

   How could Neji be so stupid? Did he think that line could be uncrossed? Did he.. did he care? 

   Maybe  _ she _ was the one overreacting. They never had an actual conversation about what they were getting into, and since she stormed off without any explanation, he probably only saw it as something not so big. Pregnancy definitely escalated the situation. Also, it was probably the reason she was acting so unreasonable. Sakura warned her about potentially tumultuous hormones and feelings. 

   Unfortunately, while she may have skipped telling him today, she absolutely would have to eventually. He wasn’t an idiot, and when Tenten started to show, it would be clear enough to count back the months and guess what happened. Tenten reaches up for the cord on her bedroom light and tries to take a page from Neji’s book. She meditates. 

   In that space, between consciousness and the dark space beyond, Tenten finds a respite. 

 

   The next morning comes and goes without much fuss, but her mornings are getting progressively more irritating. No more caffeinated teas or coffees and a great addition of roiling nausea. 

   Tenten pulls herself together after a few hours, knowing she has a clear day again, she takes her time heading out for the event she’s truly avoiding. Meeting with the Hokage.

   She skips past greeting the chuunin at the front desk and makes her way upstairs. With one hand hovering over the door to knock, Tenten pauses. 

   The door opens before she knocks and Shikamaru holds the door open for her. A bit flustered, she enters warily. 

   “Ah, Tenten. I was wondering who was hovering at my door. What brings you in?” Kakashi has only recently been made the Rokudaime Hokage, the construction of his face on the side of the mountains isn’t even finished, but Tsunade took off quick for her retirement, which likely includes gambling and heavy drinking. After living through yet another war, Tenten can’t really blame her. 

   Tenten glances at Shikamaru. Of course, she knew he was interning, but she hadn’t really considered the fact he’d be in the room. Kakashi follows her glance and clears his throat. 

   “Shikamaru, do you mind grabbing some of those mission debriefs from reception?” Kakashi says this, more than asks. Shikamaru complies with a short nod of deference and quirks an eyebrow at Tenten before shutting the door behind him. 

   Kakashi settles back into his chair, clearly expecting a reason for the secrecy. The moment stretches on painfully and Tenten reaches for the right way to broach the subject and gets down on her knee before his desk.

   “Hokage-sama, how’d you know I wanted to talk to you privately?” 

   Kakashi waves her question away, “get up, Tenten, please. Also, you looked at Shikamaru as though he’d really surprised you, so I guessed you were here for just me, so you hadn’t realized someone else would be here.” 

   Tenten gets back up and stands at attention, subtly rubbing her sweating palms against her pants. 

   “Oh, yeah. That’s all true.” Tenten was getting more and more nervous by the second. Telling Kakashi had to be about as bad as it could get,

and it was already painful enough to tell Sakura, let alone a former sensei/current village leader. In fact, she’d rather tell just about anyone else.

   Kakashi left the air empty, offering no more comments. He was patient, and he would let her say it when she was ready. 

   “Hokage-sama, on the night of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I was careless and became pregnant.” Tenten measures each word out carefully, feeling a steady rise in temperature as a blush spreads across her face.

   Kakashi is still, then clears his throat. This is apparently not the conversation he thought was about to happen. Even he seems a bit uncomfortable, probably trying not to picture a young Tenten becoming an actual adult. 

   “Hmm,” Kakashi, succinct as usual, left his thought hanging. Tenten squirms. He didn’t seem mad, or upset, but it was always hard to read him. 

    “Just  _ you _ were careless?” 

    “Well, no, but-“

    “Is there a reason you came alone?”

    Tenten didn’t reply, and she didn’t have to. Whether she had told Neji and he didn’t join her here, or Tenten hadn’t told him for fear he wouldn’t join her here, she still chose to be alone, therefore forcing herself to carry this herself. Both literally and metaphorically. 

   Kakashi rests his face on a hand propped on the desk, his usual slouchiness taking over again, “I won’t advise you on your life, Tenten, this is your choice to make and you should feel free to do so. I do, as Hokage, have other things to say about this. As of today, I will pull you off the active roster, indefinitely.” 

   Tenten sighs. Sakura had already warned her that she would likely not be taking missions for a while, but Tenten had thought she could still do some D-rank missions at the very least. 

   “Yes, Hokage-sama.” Tenten gives a short bow and Kakashi waves it off again. 

   “Also, as my advisor, Shikamaru will be filling this cessation. I will ask for his discretion, especially in light of the company he keeps.” Neither are saying it, but both are thinking of Ino.

    “Thank you Hokage-sama.” 

    “You don’t have to call me that. You should consider telling Guy soon, too. You know he cares for you, and he’ll do anything to help you. He’s bound to the village with his injuries and the two of you might be a very good distraction from that.” 

   Tenten grumbles under her breath. Yeah, she considered telling Guy. He’d be wonderful, but also he might meddle, and while she was still working up the courage to tell Sakura, she wasn’t quite ready to talk to him. Maybe she would now.

   “Remember, even with what you know about Guy, he’s a shinobi first, and if you need him to keep a secret for now, he will.” 

   “Yes, Kakashi-sama.” Kakashi sighs in response to her honorific but doesn’t correct her. 

   “Alright, if there’s nothing else, you’re free to go. And don’t forget to take care of yourself during your pregnancy, take this suspension as a time to do as you want.” This time, Tenten sighs. Most shinobi dread the lack of work, and Tenten would be one of them. 

  
  


A/N: blegh @ dialogue heavy chapters! They’re necessary for plot function/movement blah blah blah. Hang in there. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Tenten probably didn’t handle the next few weeks in the best way. She spent the mornings sick, hiding in bed. Lee came by a few times but she hid from him, seeing as he couldn’t tell if she were there. Neji did not come by, which is good because he definitely could tell if she was inside. 

   The only person Tenten had let inside was Sakura, who brought over homemade food, made purposely bland for Tenten’s sensitive stomach. 

   Tenten did most of her errands mid morning, after most ninja had left to train or on to missions, and after her nausea subsided. There wasn’t any evidence of her pregnancy yet, her well-toned body hiding any telltale bump. 

   Unfortunately, it was the monotony and her dark mood that finally prompted her to come out of her cave and follow Kakashi’s advice. Much to her chagrin, she knew that this was the right thing to do. 

   Tenten didn’t need to think twice about how to find Guy. She simply went to the training grounds and found herself blessedly alone. No Lee, no Neji. Just one perpetually moronic jonin doing chin-ups on some wooden equipment. 

   “Ah! Tenten! Konoha’s beloved weapons mistress! Come to show me some of that green youth flowing through you?!” Guy swung out from the bar he hung on and aimed a kick at Tenten, who instead of blocking it, ducked swiftly out of the way. 

    “Tenten! Where is your fighting spirit?! Come spar with me!” Hopping on his one good leg, Guy approaches, winding up for a roundhouse kick. 

   Tenten again doesn’t rise to the bait, knowing a well placed kick from Guy is dangerous. She enters into his space, not allowing him to fire off a powerful kick and she grabs the swinging leg and sets him on the ground, placing her hands out in the universal signal for “stop”. 

   Guy seems to catch on to the moment, blessedly. He collapses into a heap on the grass, and Tenten retrieves his wheelchair. 

   Once settled, Tenten stands before him feeling unusually uncomfortable. Guy-sensei has some of the best battle instincts in the Leaf, but his common sense leaves much to be desired. 

    “Sensei, I want to tell you something, but first I want you to understand that for now, this is between just you and me.” 

   Guy squints his eyes at her, assessing the situation. “Any secret of yours will be treated as important as any ninja mission. You are one of my most important people, Tenten. I’ll keep it between us.”

    “Thank you Guy-sensei. I guess I’ll start with the part that’s hardest.” Guy looks expectantly at her, his face open.

   Tenten takes a deep breath, and while she’s pretty sure she knows how this is gonna go, she is still nervous. On the exhale of that deep breath, she lets it out. 

   “I’m pregnant?” She braces herself as the moment passed. 

   A green blur comes at her, and she has just enough time and sense to not dodge, but ground her feet. 

    A sobbing, blubbering Guy clings to Tenten, words coming out in a stream too fast to understand. Tenten holds him up from the puddle he’s likely to become and she does a thing she hasn’t felt like doing in weeks. She laughs. 

   She tilts her head back, laughing heartily until tears are coming out, and Guy pulls away suddenly, assessing her. 

   “I’m okay, Guy-sensei. I’m okay.” Tenten reacts instead of thinks, and pulls Guy back into a hug, and she puts a little strength into it. Of all the people in the world, knowing that Guy-sensei is still here for her, that he is happy, is changing her mood entirely. 

    Tenten thanks Kakashi silently for suggesting this, for all his pretend disconnected emotions, he’s extremely intuitive to the needs of others. 

   Guy sits back down in his wheelchair sniffling his nose loudly. He gives Tenten his trademark smile and reaches out for her hand. 

    “Who’s bringing in this bright youth with you?” He asks earnestly. 

   “So beyond keeping this a secret in general, the father is something I really need you to be both impartial and quiet about. Please, sensei.” Tenten puts every effort into showing her need for his respect on this. 

   “Hmmm. Impartial? It’s one of my beloved students then, isn’t it?”

   Tenten laughs a little uncomfortably. “Yeah. And he doesn’t know. “

   Guy’s face grows dark, his expression unusually keen. “He deserves to know, Tenten. You shouldn’t have to do this alone. I know my team, they’re all the finest shinobi and people.” 

   Tenten kicks a spot in the dirt near Guy’s wheelchair, not quite able to meet his eyes. 

    “I’ll tell him, I’m just scared. I’m keeping the child with or without him and once I tell him, and he tells me what he wants, it’s final. And I don’t want to lose anyone.” 

    Guy catches her hand she has balled up by her side and gives it a squeeze, “you won’t lose. No one on my team loses.” 

   Almost without thinking, Tenten’s feet took her down the familiar path to the Hyuuga estate. The courtyard she’d seen in her dreams was much the same, but today Hanabi and Hinata were caught in a spar and if they noticed her approach, neither indicated it. 

   Gentle Fist had long fascinated Tenten, careful measured steps and bruising blows that were delivered with a measure of artful form. Every Hyuuga had a different take on their style, Hanabi was the most energetic, her spins and kicks swift and relentless. Hinata worked slowly, her accuracy incredibly refined and her defense nearly impenetrable. 

   It was Neji, though, that continually entranced her. It was like a dance when the two of them sparred, he mirrored her movements in anticipation of attacks and and his serious face softened for her before he launched a flurry of tiny blows. Tenten could watch him fight and never see the same things, he was truly a genius in terms of battle intelligence.

   Hinata made brief eye contact with Tenten when dodging an attack from Hanabi that pushes her around their circle of battle and Hinata suddenly loses concentration and stumbles back. 

   Hanabi broke into a fit of laughter, “what was that?!” She shrilled. 

   Hinata blushes furiously from the ground and Tenten checks behind her for a sudden appearance of Naruto, unsure of why Hinata would be so suddenly embarrassed. 

   “Hanabi, can you go get us some tea?” Hinata asked, ignoring her sister’s laughs. 

   “Sure, sure. Be right back.” Hanabi disappears into the larger of the two houses and Hinata approached cautiously. Tenten eyes her suspiciously.  

   “Something caught your eye, Hinata?” 

   “Actually, I-I did see something just now.” If it were possible, Hinata darkens a shade once more and Tenten suddenly makes the connection. 

   “With your byakugan… Hinata… can you see?” 

   “I wasn’t trying to pry!! I’m s-sorry. I just noticed it and it caught me off guard.”

   “What exactly do you see?” Tenten holds herself very still, and Hinata reactivates her byakugan. 

   “A second source of chakra… right here.” Hinata rubs her stomach to indicate the area. Tenten places her own hand atop her belly, wishing she could see as Hinata does. 

   “It was the same for Kurenai. I could see Mirai as she grew, too… Tenten… is it Neji’s?” 

   A direct question from Hinata was a little wounding, but there wasn’t a lot of other people it could have been. 

   “Yeah. But for now, Hinata, this is just between us. Please.” Tenten reaches for her balled hands and pulls them toward her, “please.”

    “Ah, Tenten, of course. I’ll tell no one.” 

    “Tell no one what?” Hanabi comes out the door, tray of tea and tea kettle in hand. 

   “Tell no one… that… I love Neji?” Tenten offers weakly. 

    Hanabi wrinkles her nose, “everyone knows that. Except Neji, probably. He’s a dull as Lee. Your team only functions because you’re on it, Tenten.” 

   Crisis averted, the three enjoy the tea in the sun, but Hinata keeps shooting glances at Tenten’s stomach. It occurs to Tenten that in a way, these are her child’s future aunts. This keeps her mood up perceptibly, until she asks the question she had been avoiding. 

   “Is Neji home right now? I want to ask him something.” Tenten plays at being nonchalant. Hinata looks at her sympathetically but it’s Hanabi that cuts in with an answer. 

   “When he got back from the search and rescue mission he was dispatched for another mission in Kumo. I guess they’re trying to lock down and find any old hideouts of Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. They wouldn’t let me go.” Hanabi, newly chuunin, pouts. 

   “You know it’s not because of your skill, but because you’re very important to the Hyuuga, Hanabi.” Hinata smooths the loose hair out of Hanabi’s face and Tenten feels a little twinge of jealousy. Having a sister was always something she thought she wanted and these two girls clearly love each other. 

   “He’s not supposed to be gone as long as last time, he said he tried to see you before he left but didn’t get a chance to tell you.” Hinata adds softly. 

   Tenten groans inwardly. It certainly would be hard to get a hold of her, seeing as she took off without listening to him. 

   “How much longer do you think? It’s been a few weeks already.” Tenten keeps the anxiety low in her voice, but she’s losing that battle. 

    “Oh, should be soon, I think! They’re supposed to be in town for a few days and then sent out to Suna directly after. You know he asked us about you, too. Neji never shares with us, so what’s happening with you guys?” Hanabi leans forward excitedly, trying to goad the girls into gossip. 

    “Ah, nothing special.” Tenten laughs nervously. 

    “Don’t be so modest. Neji doesn’t ask us about anything, so from my view, it looks like something special.” Hanabi gives her a bright smile, one to earn trust. 

    “Ha, well. I’m his favorite teammate-“ while Tenten evades the question, a door slides open and Hinata’s father calls for Hanabi. 

    “This conversation is not over.” She comments over her shoulder.

    Once Hanabi is safely out of earshot, Hinata lowers her voice, “Tenten, my father will want to hear about this, too. Your baby will be be a Hyuuga, too. What are you going to do?”

    Tenten groans, “I haven’t even told Neji yet, let alone talk about telling your father.” 

    “He doesn’t know!?” Hinata gapes, forgetting to keep her voice low. 

    “Shhh! No, he doesn’t. It’s a long story, but during the war we were separated and there hasn’t been time yet to tell him. He’s been out on missions for so long.” 

    “So you’re at least two months along? You aren’t showing.” 

    Tenten looks down as though she’ll see something different and shrugs, “Sakura says that’s normal.” Tenten finishes the dregs of her tea and stands. 

   “Hinata, I’ll be around, but for now it’s still just between us. When Neji returns, I have to let him know.” Hinata nods and gives her another smile. 

   “I’m so excited to meet my new niece or nephew, Tenten. Let me know if you need anything at all, everything is gonna be fine in whatever form it comes in.” 

   Tenten nods mutely and waves goodbye. If only she could convince herself the same thing.


	8. Chapter 8

Neji left Konoha in a complete state of confusion. He’d known Tenten for over a decade and she wasn’t usually the sort of person to not come out and say what was bothering her, because it was obvious something was bothering her. 

   He ran through the conversation in his head again and while in terms of apologies, this certainly wasn’t a top tier approach. 

   Everything he said was true, though. He thought their dynamic as a team was unbeatable. It’s why he thought they’d be strange around each other since he lost control in the forest. It wasn’t a part of their team dynamic they’d explored before. And he could have ruined it. 

    Tenten deserved to be treated like someone to be cherished, and Neji was embarrassed to admit while he fully enjoyed the moments they shared that night, he also didn’t know what to do next. Should he have asked her on a date? Was that appropriate considering the circumstances? Was she thinking about him the same way? 

    It stressed him out to the point that he’d lost direction and was simply following the others around him as they headed toward Kumo. 

    Kiba and Neji had given their debriefing and been reassigned to another search mission in the same breath. Kakashi valued their expertise and thanked them for their work in the war, and apologized for turning them right back around again to help. 

   Normally, Neji wouldn’t have thought twice about heading right back out, but this time he knew he’d be leaving Tenten behind with questions. When he awoke from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the thing that was most clear to him was that he cared for her in a way that was distinctly different than anyone else, and that he could mess it up in so many different ways. 

    Kiba, who until now had been running ahead of Neji, fell back to match his stride with a decidedly distracted Neji. 

   “So it goes without saying, that the Inuzuka clan has the best sense of smell in Konoha, right?” 

   Neji turned to look at him curiously, “you wouldn’t be here otherwise. Everyone knows your tracking skills are nearly unrivaled.” 

   “Nearly?” Kiba snorted, then backed down from what was likely the beginning of a new tirade. 

   “Anyway, Neji, what I’m trying to say is that with my nose, I don’t just smell the same things that you do. I can smell differences in people, the type of sweat, whether it’s nerves or just from exercise or heat. I can smell hormone changes, too.”

    “That’s very useful, I’m sure.”  Neji commented blandly. 

    “It is. But I recently smelled something on Tenten I hadn’t in a while. The same smell Kurenai had when she was pregnant.” 

    Neji said nothing, but kept running. There were gears furiously turning in his head. 

   “You can smell Tenten?”

   “Is that what you’re stuck on? Yeah, Neji, I can smell you, too and you stink of her. But that’s not what I’m trying to say. I think Tenten is pregnant and after all the weird dodgy questions you asked me yesterday, I think you know it too.” 

   Neji’s sure footing faltered. He didn’t have selective memory about that night, he remembered it perfectly, including the finish. But Tenten had said she’d talk to Sakura, and he reasoned she would have told him. 

   The revelation sent him reeling. He was going to be a father? He was going to be sick. In all the ways to mishandle Tenten, this was likely the worst. Suddenly, this mission in Kumo was too much, he needed to go home to Tenten, his place is at her side.

   Kiba continued beside him, shooting glances but saying nothing, just for once in his life, Kiba knew this wasn’t the time to push Neji. 

   The weeks in Kumo passed both quickly and terribly slow. The tracking group included a number of other Konoha-nin and Neji gladly faded into the background when he wasn’t using his byakugan to search underground for unusual disturbances. 

    Even the typically boisterous Kiba was serious, and Neji began to understand how he worked so well with a stoic Shino and shy Hinata. 

    The passage of the days came with the understanding that once he returned home, he’d have to speak with Tenten and this made him more uncomfortable than anything else. Everything was going to change. Neji was going to be a father, he was going to be linked with Tenten for life, regardless of either ones wishes. There was no telling if Tenten wanted to share any amount of her future with him, but he hoped that she would. He was determined he’d be present for this child. 

   On the day of his return, a knot formed in his chest. It was lucky he was generally thought of as quiet, because no one expected him to fill the silence with chatter. Kiba did that for him.

    In the nights that had past, Neji had carefully questioned Kiba about Tenten. The possibility that a mistake had been made was eliminated. 

   “Are you going straight in to debrief when we get back?” Kiba slowed Akamaru to meet Neji’s pace.

   “Sooner is better, I think.” 

    “Well, yeah. But I could give the report instead.” Neji turned to look at Kiba, scrutinizing his face. 

    “Sometimes I do nice things, too. You have something to more important to do. Besides, since the trip was fruitless, there’s not much to report.”

 

    The trip only lasts a few hours, and before long they are crossing into Fire Country once more. Along the way Neji plotted routes he’d take to look for Tenten once he past the gates. Her apartment. The training grounds. The old weapons shop she loved. He’d find her. 

   Neji barely acknowledges the chuunin at the gate, barely takes notice of who was standing there as he rushes in and begins a bee-line toward Tenten’s apartment. 

    It’s to his own surprise that who was waiting for him at the gate is Hinata holding the hand of a rather feisty-looking Tenten. Neji has to shake himself out of an inner monologue, and face them directly. Kiba passes by on Akamaru and shouts a hello to both girls and races away toward the Hokage tower.

    Neji approaches both girls and Hinata greets him in her soft voice and smooth gestures, distinctly Hyuuga. She excuses herself and before she takes off, too, she sets a hand on Tenten’s shoulder and they both exchange a look that clearly communicates that Hinata came for Tenten and they’d previously agreed this is where she’d part ways. 

   Neji coached himself before, he’d tried so hard to drill it in his head, but it only takes seconds for him to do exactly as he hoped not to do. He glances at Tenten’s belly. 

   The glance is followed by Tenten who looks immediately uncomfortable. They lock eyes and Neji feels his heart beating the words he can’t say. 

   He pushes out the first words he can and the two of them are suddenly speaking in unison,

     “I’m sorry.”


End file.
